I'm pretty late to the whole Dr. Who? phenomenon, but it turns out I'm a Sci-Fi-Fantasy fangirl to the core, because now I'm hooked! Been watching marathon runs of the new series on Netflix every night. :D

But back to the fashion.

When time traveling to the year 200,100 a character called Captain Jack gets drafted into a morbid makeover TV show. While there, the Fashion Stylist Robot Show Hosts tell him: Never wear black with colour. It makes the colour look cheap and the black look boring.

!

I had never been able to articulate it, but this totally sums up how I feel in bright colors with black. I always get terrible 80s Lisa Frank trapper-keeper unicorn flashbacks.

Clearly all colors are not created equal - we at YLF have already come to terms with the fact that many colors function as neutrals (navy, olive, dark purple, leopard...). And I'm finding that I love mixing all those with black. But I feel increasingly uncomfortable pairing black with bright, saturated colors. Especially now that I have navy bottoms to substitute in.

Strangely, this feeling doesn't necessarily translate to other people. Plenty of people look perfectly fab in this kind of combo. Lots of different factors at play, I guess - coloring, personality, personal style. And plenty of fashion spreads and bloggers show black with brights. But that makes it even stranger that this fashion "rule" is apparently floating around in the world.

What's behind this black-bright relationship? Does anyone else (apart from the writers at Dr. Who?) feel this way? What causes this feeling?

I have a killer insect brooch that I love and seems to be on-trend, but every time I try to work it into an outfit it doesn't feel right. Has anyone seen any outfit pics or street style pics showing how to wear a brooch "now"?

I have seen suggestions as hair decor and on dressy dresses, but I'm looking for more of a modern take.

If you have a better term for the opposite of a wardrobe workhorse, please feel free! lol

After reading and answering Suz's post on unexpected workhorses in our wardrobes, I got to thinking: what items didn't work out? What new things do I put on and struggle with over and over, like I'm beating a dead horse?

For me:

The Kooples plain white shirt. I thought it'd be the perfect, slightly oversized fit, but the sleeves are too wide and the mandarin collar isn't basic enough for me.

Ella Moss moto jacket. I do LOVE this jacket! But it's not quite as fitted as I like, so it feels more casual and is harder to build a dressy work outfit around. Only worn a couple times this season.

Silky trousers. I was so hot for these last summer, but either I've moved on or the job has changed me. My customer base is pretty horrified by baggy bottoms.

So over to you? Did you buy anything expecting a workhorse and find you didn't use it that much after all?

EDIT: Thanks to Vicki for coming up with "wild horses" as the inverse of "work horses"! The wild horse fights you and refuses to fall in line, while the workhorse is reliable every time. Perfect analogy!

Inge's Link Love posts regarding watch trends reminded me of a question that's been niggling at me: is it ok to wear "boyfriend"/ "bracelet" style watches loose like a bangle bracelet? Or must they be fitted, lest I look like a complete watch amateur?

I have never bothered to shorten my watch straps, because I prefer the look of the chunky watch hanging low on my arm - as opposed to adding bulk to my dainty wrists, which I like to show.

Is there etiquette for this? Or even if there is, any chance it's like wearing white after Labor Day?

It hit me: I don't like men in leather jackets! And since I'm a tomboy at heart, they don't jive 100% of the time. But in an outfit with my bf or wideleg -very manly - jeans, a leather jacket feels much better. Aaaahhhh, i can sleep again!

I am still considering a purge of:
- black faux shearling F21 moto (bought at last year's YLF meetup... this one is sentimental to me and fits so nicely, but it feels strange to wear it when it's warm, and the faux shearling doesn't warm me when it's cold...)
- tan leather Caslon jacket I've been meaning to dye. I may still dye it a distressed emerald color, but I'm trying to decide if I'd wear it once I finished!
- Chocolate brown Allsaints leather jacket - I am seriously re-evaluating the color as one of my neutrals. I am no longer sure it is flattering on me!

I also realized that it's not really fair of me to lump my blazers in with the jacket challenge. I just don't wear them the same way. These days, I wear true jackets much more because they keep my chest warm while I'm on my way in to work. Blazers obviously do not do this - they are indoor decorations for me to wear at DFS or over dresses at parties. They are also part of my aspirational wardrobe because, if I ever get to a full-line store for work, I will want to wear my blazers indoors that way.

Hence, I am taking my blazers OUT of the jacket challenge, effectively halving the numbers to work with, especially since I decided not to break my neck wearing summer-weight jackets in winter. That means I'm not in such crazy shape with my jackets after all! Who knew??

I bought a pair of Naturalizer pumps for my interview last week, and I wore them to Dress for Success today... *never* have I known worse foot pain! I'm baffled, because they felt really good around the house. I guess maybe the carpet absorbs a lot of the impact? I'm talking big toe, little toe, instep, ankle, and arch pain. I didn't hurt this much after walking 12 hours in Italy!

By now, most of you know that I am madly in love with boots. They make me feel strong, protected, prepared... but as a SoCal native, it would make sense to own more sandals. I currently have only three pairs in normal rotation -- two nude and one black.

So is it impossible to find a truly bad*ss sandal? By nature, sandals expose your feet, rather than protecting and armoring them - so although I see many *cool* *edgy* and *unique* sandals, I never fall in love with them. It's hard to get that rugged, tough person feel in a sandal. Is it even possible?

I got dressed this morning with the aim of touching on all my most important style elements, a la Shannon. But before I show you the results, I wanted see if you thought I'm missing or miss-stating anything. Here's what I have as my working first draft:

What do you think? The hope is to remind me of my top priority style and fit requirements in a quick way every time I dress. Thanks for any pointers!

ETA: Okay, here is my first rubric outfit in pic #1- I added the waist part to my list because I wasn't 100% happy with the proportions here, so it's not perfect. I also think this skirt may have to go, but overall I do like the "feel" of this outfit more than pic #2, which is when I struggled the most.

About

I'm just your average working stiff who loves nice things and hates to pay for them. This blog outlines my efforts to navigate that treacherous shopping/saving divide through swappin', thriftin', and even a little resellin'. Many of the pieces in my wardrobe cost me just $1! We've heard a lot about people "living above their means" in recent years; I'm championing the concept of living large *below* your means - whatever that means for you. :)

lookfab.com was inspired by the members of the youlookfab forum, who share our belief that style is beyond shape, size, age and budget, and above all, that fashion should be fun!